Sports > Victorious Blake puts nightmare year behind him

The 25-year-old wild card, who dropped outside the top 200 last year after injury and illness, produced a scintillating performance to send the French Open champion packing in front of a jubilant crowd on Arthur Ashe Court.

This time last year Blake could only watch the U.S. Open on television, having broken a vertebrae in his neck in practice in May. A rare illness slowed his recovery and he also lost his father to cancer.

On Saturday, however, he was all smiles as he romped past the world number two, his first victory over a top-10 player at a grand slam event.

"About this time last year, I was wondering if I would play in the U.S. Open again," said Blake, who dropped to 210 in the rankings in April before returning to form recently by reaching the final in Washington and then winning the title in New Haven.

"I think I do owe a lot of it to having a new perspective, if I lose a match, it's not the worst thing in the world."

"Whether I won or lost, I gave 100 percent. I acted according to the manner that I know (my dad) would think is appropriate.

"If I won or lost this match, I'd like to think that he was proud of me. It's just icing on the cake that I won it and played as well as I did."

Blake said his victory was second only to his win over Andre Agassi in Washington in 2002, and the two could yet meet again in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.

"If someone had told me a year ago that I'd have to go out and lose 0, 0 and 0 in the quarter-finals of the Open to Andre Agassi, I'd say, I'd take it in a heartbeat," he said.

"If I do get in that situation, I'm going to go out there and play the same way I've been playing, not be afraid."

2005-09-04